Introduction to Teaching Online

Unit / Duration / Screen / Topics covered / Activities / Video/Audio / Icons/Themes
Unit 1: Welcome / 3 mins / Programme goals /
  • The goals of the Teaching Online programme
  • The Teaching Online portfolio
/
  • Click to view: List of programme goals
  • Ladder steps: The portfolio

4 mins / How to get the most out of the programme /
  • The courses
  • Overview of Unit 2 and Unit 3
/
  • Click to view: The courses
  • Mapping: Prioritise and plan your route through the programme

Unit 2: Online learning in higher education / 15 mins / What is ‘online learning’? /
  • The characteristics of online learning
  • Affordances and constraints of online learning
/
  • Click to view: Affordances and constraints
  • Notemaking: Affordances and constraints of online/face-to-face environment
/ [Main screen:]
How would you characterise online learning?
  • Marion Waite
Senior Lecturer and Teaching Fellow, Oxford Brookes University
  • Professor Rhona Sharpe
    Head of the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford Brookes University
  • Professor Peter Shea
    Associate Professor In Education Theory and Practice, College of Computing and Information, University at Albany, SUNY
What are the benefits that students gain from learning online?
  • Matthew Newcombe
    Head of e-Learning, University of Exeter
What are the benefits that teachers gain from teaching online?
  • Richard Osborne
    Education Advisor (Technology Enhanced Learning), University of Exeter
What are the constraints of learning online?
  • Marion Waite
  • Matthew Newcombe
[Video interview pod:]
In what ways do social constructivist pedagogies lend themselves to the online learning environment?
  • Professor Gilly Salmon
Pro-Vice Chancellor (Learning Transformations), Swinburne University of Technology
[Audio interview pod:]
Characteristics and benefits of online learning
  • Professor Mark Brown
Director of the National Centre for Teaching and Learning, Massey University, New Zealand /
  • Blended learning

7 mins / The origins and effectiveness of online learning /
  • How did online learning evolve?
  • How effective is online learning?
/
  • Infographic timeline: Evolution of online and blended learning
  • True or false: Research into the efficacy of online learning
/ [Video interview pod:]
Dr. George Roberts
Senior Lecturer in Educational Development, Oxford Brookes University
  • What are the foundations of online learning at your institution? How has it grown?
  • What is the future of online learning at your institution?
Matthew Newcombe
Head of e-Learning, University of Exeter
  • What are the foundations of online learning at your institution? How has it grown?
  • What tools do you offer academics as part of this growth?
  • What are the reasons for the growth of online learning at your institution?

4 mins / Big ideas in online learning: Introduction to the programme themes /
  • Teaching Online’s big ideas
/
  • Click to view: Four big ideas
/
  • Interactivity
  • Community of Inquiry
  • Blended learning
  • Technology evolution

Unit 3: Programme themes / 7 mins / Interactivity: A defining characteristic /
  • The significance of interactivity
  • Types of interaction
/
  • Click to view: Four types of interaction
  • Classification: Course activities and teaching strategies
/ [Video interview pod:]
Why is interaction so central to online learning?
  • Sophie Karanicolas
    Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, University of Adelaide
  • Claire Craig
    Senior Lecturer and Researcher, Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University
In what ways can an online teacher use interaction in their course?
  • Sophie Karanicolas
  • Claire Craig
What advances have you seen in the use of interactivity in online learning?
  • Dr. Bryan Alexander
    Senior Fellow, National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education
What limitations are there to using certain interactions in online courses?
  • Cathy Snelling
    Senior Lecturer in Oral Health and Dentistry, University of Adelaide
/
  • Interactivity

5 mins / Community of Inquiry framework: A conceptual model /
  • Why COI?
  • Using COI to structure your course
/
  • Click to view: Elements of the COI model
  • Classification: Course activities and teaching strategies
/ [Video interview pod:]
How did you develop the Community of Inquiry framework and how has it evolved over time?
  • Dr. D. Randy Garrison
    Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Calgary
How do you use the Community of Inquiry framework to inform your practice?
  • Dr. Jennifer C. Richardson
    Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University
/
  • Community of Inquiry

9 mins / Blended learning: The continuum /
  • The blended learning continuum
  • The move towards blended learning
  • Blending with purpose
  • Using multiple approaches
  • Blending with purpose in practice
  • The ‘Flipped Classroom’
/
  • Click to view: Face-to-face, blended, online
  • Click to view: The ‘Blending with purpose’ model
  • Notemaking: Objectives, activities/technologies and environments
/ [Video interview pod:]
What does ‘blended learning’ mean to you and how does it differ from both traditional face-to-face and fully online learning?
  • Dr. Anthony G. Picciano
    Professor and Executive Officer of the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education, Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
How do you ensure that face-to-face and online learning activities are blended effectively?
  • Professor Alex Steel
    Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales
How do you envisage the future of blended learning?
  • Dr. Anthony G. Picciano
  • Professor Alex Steel
  • Dr.PanosVlachopoulos
    Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Development, Macquarie University
[Main screen:]
Can you describe your ‘Blending with purpose’ model?
  • Dr. Anthony G. Picciano
    Professor and Executive Officer of the Ph.D. Program in Urban Education, Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
What inspired you to construct the ‘Blending with purpose’ model?
  • Dr. Anthony G. Picciano
/
  • Do this!
  • Blended learning

19 mins / Technology evolution: Keeping pace with change /
  • Let the pedagogy lead
  • Heuristics not algorithms
/
  • Ranking: Emerging technologies
/ [Main screen:]
Marion Waite
Senior Lecturer and Teaching Fellow, Oxford Brookes University
  • What emerging technologies are you or your institution adopting?
  • Are you or your institution involved in MOOCs? How are they affecting your institution?
  • What interests you most about these new MOOC projects?
  • What challenges have you encountered in scaling up to a MOOC?
  • How can you meet these challenges?
  • How do you or your institution use learning analytics?
Dr. Chuck D. Dziuban
Director of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Central Florida
  • What emerging technologies are you or your institution adopting?
  • How do you use technology to resolve issues surrounding student retention and progression?
  • What advice would you give to other institutions seeking to improve their student retention and progression?
  • How do you or your institution use learning analytics?
  • What challenges are there in implementing this technology?
Professor Sarah H. Kagan
Lucy Walker Honorary Term Professor of Gerontological Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
  • What were your initial thoughts when you were asked to run a MOOC?
  • How did you design a single course for such a wide-ranging audience?
  • How could you measure your success?
  • How did you ensure your students remained engaged after completing the course?
Dr. Bruce N. Chaloux
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, The Sloan Consortium
Dr. Lawrence C. Ragan
Director of the Center for Online Innovation in Learning, Penn State University
  • The impact of technology in education
  • Online learning as a ‘disruptive’ innovation
/
  • Case study
  • Technology evolution

Mastering online pedagogy

Unit / Duration / Screen / Topics covered / Activities / Video/Audio / Icons/Themes
Unit 1: How people learn / 12 mins / Constructivism /
  • Learning theories
  • Social constructivism as the foundation for teaching and learning
  • How constructivist is your teaching?
/
  • Rate the frequency: Learning and/or assessment activities
  • Notemaking: Does you teaching reflect your beliefs about learning?
/ [Main screen:]
How do you believe people learn? How has this affected the way you design your courses?
  • Professor Alex Steel
    Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales
  • Dr. Norm Vaughan
    Professor, Department of Education and Schooling, Mount Royal University
What activities do you use to encourage the social construction of knowledge?
  • Professor Alex Steel
  • Dr. Laurie P. Dringus
    Professor of Information Systems, Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, Nova Southeastern University
What activities do you use to link the concepts you are teaching to your students’ prior knowledge?
  • Helen Keegan
    Senior Lecturer and National Teaching Fellow, University of Salford
How do you encourage collaboration in your courses?
  • Professor Alex Steel
  • Professor Bill Pelz
    Instructional Designer for Online Learning, Herkimer County Community College and SUNY

7 mins / Constructivist learning environments /
  • Constructivist learning environments
/
  • Click to view: Four characteristics of constructivist learning environments
  • Classification: Learner-centred, knowledge-centred, assessment-centred and community-centred activities

14 mins / Making online courses learner-centred and knowledge-centred /
  • Learning-centred online environments
  • The value of online discussions
  • Knowledge-centred online environments
  • Information and knowledge
  • The negotiation of meaning online
/ [Main screen:]
To what extent should students take responsibility for the online learning process?
  • Dr.Patsie Polly
    Senior Lecturer in Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales
  • Dr. Keith Kinsella
    Online Coach on the MA in Leadership and Change programme, Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter
What circumstances affect whether or not a student can be autonomous in their learning?
  • Dr.Patsie Polly
Have you used synchronous online learning tools for group activities?
  • Sophie Karanicolas
    Senior Lecturer, School of Dentistry, University of Adelaide
  • Professor Alejandro Armellini
    Director, Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Northampton
Have you used asynchronous learning tools in your teaching?
  • Dr. Martha Snyder
    Associate Professor, Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, Nova Southeastern University
What are your top tips for making online courses as learner-centred as possible?
  • Dr.Patsie Polly
As online resources multiply, how can teachers help students to access, evaluate and use information?
  • Professor Ray Schroeder
    Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning, University of Illinois Springfield
  • Professor Michael Rip
    Director of the Program in Public Health, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University
What activities do you use to structure knowledge-centred learning?
  • Professor Ray Schroeder
  • Professor Michael Rip
What challenges might online teachers face when trying to mediate knowledge-centred learning?
  • Professor Alejandro Armellini
    Director, Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Northampton
  • Professor Ray Schroeder
What tips would you give new practitioners for making their courses as knowledge-centred as possible?
  • Professor Alejandro Armellini
  • Professor Ray Schroeder

18 mins / Making online courses assessment-centred and community-centred /
  • The upsides of assessment-centred online environments
  • The downsides of assessment-centred online environments
  • Providing personal feedback
  • Community-centred online environments
/
  • Click to view: Upsides of assessment-centred learning environments
/ [Main screen:]
How do you build assessment into your course?
  • Isabel Moros
    Lecturer and Senior Language Coordinator, Hispanic Studies, University of Exeter
What are some good examples of assessment activities for online courses?
  • Isabel Moros
How can peer-assessment be used effectively for large courses?
  • Professor Bill Pelz
    Instructional Designer for Online Learning, Herkimer County Community College and SUNY
What is the role of the tutor in a peer-assessment activity?
  • Isabel Moros
How do students react to being assessed in a variety of ways online?
  • Isabel Moros
  • Clark Shah-Nelson
    Senior Instructional Designer and Team Lead, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
What challenges have you encountered in conducting summative assessment for distance-learning students?
  • Professor Denise Kirkpatrick
    Pro-Vice Chancellor (Student Experience), University of Adelaide
How have you overcome these challenges?
  • Professor Denise Kirkpatrick
What are the best examples that you have seen of online groupwork and how have they achieved a sense of belonging for the class?
  • Natasha Bellinger
    Barrister and Lecturer in Law, University of Exeter
  • Dr. Jennifer C. Richardson
    Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University
What should an online teacher bear in mind when establishing community-centred formative or summative assessment?
  • Dr. Leigh Graves Wolf
    Assistant Professor and Program Director, MA in Educational Technology, Michigan State University
Is social media resulting in a ‘blurring’ of the private and professional lines?
  • Dr.YishayMor
    Independent Education Consultant
  • Helen Keegan
    Senior Lecturer and National Teaching Fellow, University of Salford
How does blended learning develop the learners’ sense of community more than fully online or fully face-to-face learning?
  • Dr. Michael Wilmore
    Senior Lecturer in Media, University of Adelaide
/
  • Interactivity

1 min / Unit review /
  • Summary

Unit 2: A deeper dive: Theories for learner-centred online pedagogy / 8 mins / Learning theory drives pedagogy /
  • Understanding knowledge and learning
  • The social nature of learning
  • Situated cognition/learning in online learning
  • The knowledge spread
  • Learning communities online
/
  • Notemaking: Situated cognition/learning
  • Notemaking: Distributed cognition
  • Notemaking: Situated learning and distributed cognition
/
  • Interactivity

9 mins / Changing paradigms – from teaching to learning /
  • The paradigm shift from teaching to learning
/
  • Click to view: Teaching paradigm vs. learning paradigm
  • Classification: Teaching paradigm or learning paradigm

13 mins / Let’s meet the learners /
  • Understanding your students
  • Knowing learners online
  • Expecting to be engaged?
  • The era of information abundance and how to guide students through it
/
  • Notemaking: Your own history as a learner vs. your students’
/ [Main screen:]
In what ways can online learning allow students to be agents of their own intellectual growth?
  • Professor Denise Kirkpatrick
    Pro-vice Chancellor (Student Experience), University of Adelaide
What is the role of the online teacher in a learner-centred online environment?
  • SebSchmoller
    Former Chief Executive of the Association for Learning Technology
  • David Eddy
    Teaching Fellow and Principal Lecturer in Radiotherapy and Oncology, Sheffield Hallam University
How does online teaching differ from a face-to-face situation?
  • Professor Denise Kirkpatrick
In what ways do you work to better know your students at a distance?
  • David Eddy
  • Dr.PanosValchopoulos
    Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Development, Macquarie University
  • Professor Karen Swan
    Stukel Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership and Research Associate, Center for Online Learning, Research and Service, University of Illinois Springfield

1 min / Unit review /
  • Summary

Unit 3: How people learn online / 6 mins / Pedagogical perspectives for the online environment /
  • Three perspectives: The instructional promises of presentation, intelligent tutoring and social constructivism
/
  • Click to view: Presentation, intelligent tutoring and social constructivism
  • Classification: Presentation, intelligent tutoring and social constructivism

6 mins / Fostering social constructivism: The Community of Inquiry model /
  • What is the Community of Inquiry model?
/
  • Click to view: Teaching presence
  • Click to view: Social presence
  • Ladder steps: Cognitive presence

15 mins / Foundations of online interaction /
  • Three types of interaction
  • Acquisition or participation?
  • Your own approach
/
  • Click to view: Three types of interaction
  • Notemaking: Interaction
  • Classification: Acquisition and participation models of learning
  • Tick or cross/Notemaking: Interactive learning activities which will help you achieve your goals
/
  • Interactivity

8 mins / Transformation not duplication… Structuring the online environment /
  • Getting the structure right
  • Getting the feedback right
/
  • Click to view: Orientation and syllabus documents
/ [Main screen:]
Why is frequent and informative feedback so valuable in an online course?
  • Isabel Moros
    Lecturer and Senior Language Coordinator, Hispanic Studies, University of Exeter
What are your top feedback tips in an online course?
  • Cathy Snelling
    Senior Lecturer in Oral Health and Dentistry, University of Adelaide
  • Dr. Chuck D. Dziuban
    Director of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Central Florida
Are there any common pitfalls in trying to give effective feedback and how can these be avoided?
  • Isabel Moros
/
  • COI framework

1 min / Unit review /
  • Summary

Unit 4: The changing nature of online students / 5 mins / The online learner: Changing learner characteristics /
  • Breaking with tradition
  • Engaging the non-traditional student
  • Creating and sharing profiles
/
  • Classification: Non-traditional students
  • Click to view: Creating a teacher or learner profile

4 mins / Pedagogy for adults /
  • Balancing work and higher education
  • Timing your feedback
  • Valued behaviours
/
  • Multiple-choice: Your approach to flexibility
  • Click to view: Elements of a course expectations document

4 mins / The adult online student /
  • Pedagogy for adults
  • Creating choice
/
  • Click to view: Online learning activities for andragogy
/ [Video interview pod:]
How does having older students in an online course affect the activities one might include?
Dr. Keith Kinsella
Online Coach on the MA in Leadership and Change programme, Centre for Leadership Studies, University of Exeter
In what ways can tutors use online materials to enhance the adult-learner experience?
Wilma Alexander
Learning Services Manager, University of Edinburgh
How have you catered for more self-directed learners in your online course?
Dr. Keith Kinsella
Dr.Patsie Polly
Senior Lecturer in Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales
What advice would you give a tutor who wanted to create an online course for older, more self-directed learners?
Dr. Sarah Williamson
Head of Student Engagement and Education Support, Cardiff University
Wilma Alexander
How would you persuade more reluctant adult learners to give studying online a go?
Dr. Keith Kinsella
1 min / Unit review /
  • Summary

Unit 5: Adapting your role: Direct instruction and supporting self-regulation / 5 mins / Direct instruction /
  • Using direction and leadership judiciously
  • Make the most of the mini-lecture
  • A new form of presentation
  • Flipping the classroom
/
  • Notemaking: Mini-lectures
  • Reflection: Creating an effective Prezi
/
  • Blended learning

8 mins / Supporting student self-regulation: Learning presence /
  • The importance of self-regulation in online learning
  • The learning presence cycle
/
  • Click to view: The three phases of the learning presence cycle
  • Notemaking: Learning presence

1 min / Unit review /
  • Summary

Closing / 3 mins / Course summary /
  • Rapid evolution
  • Shared characteristics
  • Acknowledging new roles
  • What next?
/
  • Click to view: Next steps

Designing and developing your online course